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Whether you’re working as your own boss or for someone remotely, being organized is key. Without being in an office with coworkers, it can be easy to forget deadlines to meet or virtual meetings scheduled for the week. Here’s a round up of some of the top websites to help you stay organized and on track.

TripItWhen you travel often, keeping track of all your flights, hotels, and any other reservations can get overwhelming. TripIt lets you forward all your email confirmations to it and automatically imports the information into the calendar. One of the best features is you can view it all offline, so no need to worry about connecting to wi-fi in a foreign country while you’re trying to pull your hotel information up.

Buffer
For those working in social media or marketing, Buffer is a life saver. It allows you to add multiple accounts to schedule content for. Set a schedule for how many times a day you want to post and when, or let their tool analyze the best times to post. The extension you can add to your browser allows you to easily add articles you come across to your queue for sharing later, or posting it instantly.

Every Time Zone
If you’re working remotely, chances are you’re communicating with people in different time zones. Instead of trying to remember where your coworkers are, add Every Time Zone to your browser. It gives you quick access to know what time it is anywhere in the world.

EvernoteThis combines all your virtual post-it notes into one organized website. Evernote allows you to organize all your to-do lists and even sync them to your phone, so you can see what’s due on the go. You can also share your notes with others for faster collaboration.

Google DocsWith Google Docs, you never have to worry about downloading a document from a coworker, editing it, and then sending it back to them. Create a spreadsheet and share the link with a coworker to edit. You’ll be able to see their revisions when you click on the link.

Marissa is a freelance writer, travel blogger, and social media marketing manager from Seattle. She runs the travel blog Postcards to Seattle, which captures all her journeys from around the world. She likes to stay active wherever she goes, from kayaking in Italy to snowboarding in the Alps.

Travel enthusiasts have encountered a common dilemma in the past. Do they commit to the few weeks of paid vacation they have with their typical 9-5 job to fit in all their traveling for the year, or do they somehow make enough money to quit their job and travel the world? Luckily, many travelers don’t have to choose any more thanks to the recent increase of location independent jobs.

Described as “digital nomads,” many passionate travelers are now able to travel where they please, all while working from their computer. This means the same job can performed from a hammock on the sunny beaches of the Philippines one week, and from a Bavarian village surrounded by snow-capped mountains the next. Workers are no longer chained to their desks or forced to work only within certain hours.

Difference in Living Expenses

Before making the move, consider how much you’re willing to spend each month on living expenses. These can vary drastically depending on the location. In the graphic below, it shows how almost $6000 is saved over a course of three months should someone choose to live in Bali over London. However, it’s also important to consider such factors as more remote areas might have a weaker Internet signal, or you might have to go to a cafe to do all your work.

The difference in living expenses can be huge depending on the location.

Co-Working Spaces

While the freedom to travel and work on your own might be enticing, maybe you know yourself well enough to know you need a little more structure. That’s where co-working spaces come in, which are popping up all over the world. As seen on the graphic below, you can still choose a location of your choice, but will be in an office with other remote workers to encourage you to stay on task. It’s also a great way to gain some colleagues to hang out with after you’re done with your work for the day.

The best co-working spaces to work at around the world.

Is it for you?

There’s many obvious benefits to being a digital nomad. You have the freedom to travel where you want while still making money. You can choose where you want your office to be and make your own dress code. There tends to be an increase in happiness due to having such freedom.

With the freedom of working remotely comes the downsides as well. Contracts with online companies may end and not be renewed, leaving the worker scrambling for work. You must be organized and detail-oriented to make sure you’re leaving room in your schedule to get the work done that’s needed. It can be tempting to stay out late with the locals or spend all day at the beach, but it will leave you scrambling to meet deadlines.

Working remotely while traveling can be very rewarding, but it’s not for everyone. Consider your job skills, location, and budget before making the leap to join the increasing number of digital nomads.

Marissa is a freelance writer, travel blogger, and social media marketing manager from Seattle. She runs the travel blog Postcards to Seattle, which captures all her journeys from around the world. She likes to stay active wherever she goes, from kayaking in Italy to snowboarding in the Alps.

When I decided to hit the travel trail in late 2011, I planned to go to Southeast Asia and be a digital nomad building WordPress websites (such as this one for Room77) until I figured out what my next career move was (which turned out to be building Oh Hey World). I did all sorts of research to figure out the best places to live as a digital nomad in Southeast Asia, and I eventually decided upon Chiang Mai due to the sheer volume of good recommendations about the city from other travel bloggers (Koh Tao was my second choice). When I arrived in Chiang Mai in early February to stay for a few months, I had a few very specific questions related to getting acclimated to the region:

Where should I stay for 1-3 months?

What expat communities exist?

What events are coming up that I’d be interested in?

Which coffee shops are the most comfortable with strong Wifi?

Who are the interesting people I want to meet?

That information was hard to find, so I set out to solve this problem on Oh Hey World. Our digital nomad welcome kits now answer those exact questions for digital nomads all over SouthEast Asia — and, eventually, the world.

Globetrotting around Southeast Asia right now making money from your computer? If so, you’re in luck because we have welcome kits we’ve specifically curated for you for the major expat hubs around the region.

Have you been to any of these cities, and have something we should add? Leave a comment here or email shannon@ohheyworld.com and we’ll add them to our collection. If you’d like to create your own completely custom welcome kit for a city (such as this one for Santiago), then head over to our Welcome Kits page to learn more.

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

What kind of life do you want to lead? And where do you want to live it?

The life I’ve chosen over the past few years is a nomadic one — meaning constantly on the move to new places and experiencing new cultures and people. But, though I wouldn’t trade it for the world, such a life is not always as rosy as people think.

Here are some of the sacrifices you’ll need to make:

You’ll have no “home” for months at a time

You’ll go months and months without seeing your best friends in person

Comfortable couches, and beds, are few and far between

No peanut butter for hundreds or thousands of miles

Watching anything other than futbol (soccer) is amazingly hard

You’ll experience a slew of dropped Google Voice and Skype calls due to weak internet connections

Constantly fighting time zone differences trying to communicate with family and friends

No money to spend on DVD’s, fancy clothes, or other materialistic crap (that you don’t need). Not really sure this one is a sacrifice — at least to me, it’s not 🙂

Depending on your location, going days without seeing another Caucasian

A comfortable overnight bus ride? You’re dreaming.

Still want to live the nomadic lifestyle? If yes – do it. You just need to set your mind to it, make the sacrifices to save money, pack your backpack, and get on the plane.

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.